Two-on siamese twin books separator,trimmer,and resequencing process and apparatus



Feb. 24, 1910 IFE 2 3 KAI/FL 24 ROLL ER TWI T CHUTE 'KNIFE 30 CHANGE CO N VEYOR KNIFE 22 IFE 2| sgousuce PART/N6 R. L. DOERFLER ETA!- TWO-ON SIAMESE TWIN BOOKS SEPARATOR, TRIMMER. AND

RESEQUENCING PROCESS AND'APPARATUS 21 FMCE TRIM FINAL TRIM Filed Jan. 8, J.968

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RICHARD L. DOERFLER JOHN J. NILL ATTORNEYS Unite States Patent 3,496,816 TWO-ON SIAMESE TWIN BOOKS SEPARATOR, TRIMMER, AND RESEQUENCING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Richard L. Doerfier, Buffalo, and John J. Nill, Williamsville, N.Y., assignors to J. W. Clement Company, Depew, N.Y.

Filed Jan. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 696,241 Int. Cl. B2611 3/00 US. Cl. 83-39 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method and machine for receiving from a continuous conveyor an in-line supply of spaced apart, likesequenced, two-on or twin books requiring separation and edge trimming; featuring a mechanically simple straight-line pass-through system. This involves operations performing consecutively on each twin unit the face trims and the two remote end trims, and then th unit parting cut performing concomitantly therewith the lead end trim on the tail end book of each unit. The severed unit then passes through a resequencing conveyor apparatus which shifts the trailing book of each unit into the lead position of the next succeeding book unit; following which the trailing end of the resequenced book unit is given its end trim; thus completing all of the requisite trimming operations while conveying the work through the machine without interruption and by simple straight-line conveyor means.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Whereas it is common practice to print and assemble signatures and to cover them into the so-called two-on Siamese twin book form and to stack such twin-books into lifts prior to trimming their face and end portions; the operation of subsequently splitting or parting the books inevitably produces a rough end on one of the books of each twin, because of the nature of the parting knife blade. In consequence, it has heretofore been the practice to eject from the conveyor line every other one of the separated books (the ones requiring no further final end trimming) and to temporarily bypass them by means of a supplemental circuit conveyor system from the main line conveyor system while the remaining books are finally end-trimmed. The previously sidetracked books are then recombined by alternate insertion in properly coordinated sequence relation with the books still travelling on the main conveyor line, so as to deliver lifts of books which have been properly parted and trimmed, and in proper sequence.

Obviously, the mechanisms required for such bypassing and recombining of the books as explained hereinabove, especially when involved in a modern high speed book processing operation, are necessarily complicated both in respect to mechanical structure and in respect to the requisite electrical operation monitoring and control systems. Hence, the capital investment and mechanical complications and maintenance costs of such equipment are very substantial, and an additional production interruption and maintenance trouble potential is imposed on the overall operation.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved method for resequencing the passage of books on a straight-line conveyor system after being parted from twin-book form, for final end trimming operations thereon; thereby avoiding need of any bypass and subsequent recombine apparatus as discussed hereinabove. By way of example, the method and one form of apparatus embodying the present invention 1s illustrated by the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a semi-schematic top plan view of an apparatus embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged scale fragmentary view taken as suggested at FIG 3 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a similar view taken as suggested at FIG. 4 on FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged scale section taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

As shown in the drawing herewith at FIGS. 1, 2, there is provided essentially a single straight-line conveyor for receiving at its intake end a train of stacked twin-books in slightly spaced apart relation, such as are designated generally at 10. The conveyor may be of any preferred form, but as shown herein comprises a horizontally extending, vertically canted, trough designated generally at 12 which includes a bottom floor portion 14 and a re taining wall portion 16. Book pusher and positioning lugs as indicated at 18 extend upwardly through a slotted portion of the floor plate 14 and are carried at their lower ends by any suitable form of transport conveyor chain or the like as indicated at 19. Thus, it will be understood that stacks of twin books such as indicated at 10 may be fed to the intake (far left) end of the conveyor to be picked up by the lugs 18 for transport through the system as illustrated schematically by the drawing.

The twin books 10 are shown herein to each compise a book A and a book B (FIG. 1) before delivery to the machine of the present invention. The conveyor 19 is operated such as through an intermittent cam system or the like so as to stop each stack of twins in register with (1) a face edge trimmer knife as designated in the drawing at 21; (2) a pair of end trim knives 2223; and then (3) a parting knife 24. Suitable knife mechanisms of the type referred to are well known in the art, such as are disclosed for example in US. Patents 3,329,053 and 3,340,758. Pressure pads as indicated at 25 are employed to hold the lifts of books firmly during the knife trimming operations.

The cutting edges of such knives are necessarily bevelled (at one side) and therefore the knives 21, 22, 23 provide good clean cuts or trims at the face and ends of each twin book stack. However, knife 24 provides a clean cut only along its straight side; and thus as shown in FIG. 2 when it parts the two books of each twin it leaves only the leading edge portions of the A books with satisfactory end trims. The tail ends of the books B of each stack therefore require to be subsequently trimmed, which presents the problem to which the present invention relates.

In accordance with the present invention, after the twin has been parted by knife 24 the unit is shoved by the conveyor 19 along the trough 12 to a sequence change station at which point the retaining Wall 16 of the trough system is offset outwardly and downwardly so as to allow the successively arriving stacks of books to slide further downwardly on the bottom plate 14 and into a slightly laterally offset line of travel, so as to permit a pusher dog 26 (which is carried by an endless drive chain or belt 28) to move around and in behind each stack of B books as they come from the parting knife (FIG. 3). Thus, each lift of B 'books is now picked up by the pusher 26 which is carried by the conveyor 28, and is thereby shoved along the trough 12 towards the right; in each case being thereby pushed against the lift of A books of the previously preceding unit of A and B books. In this manner the A and B books of the feed supply units are resequenced; in each case a lift of A books now being disposed to lead a lift of B books.

A third conveyor as indicated at 29 now operates to move the resequenced units into the final trim station; the trailing end portion of the lift of B books being thereby disposed in register with the final trim knife 30. At this same time a hinged portion 32 of the trough retaining wall is projected inwardly (as by means of a pistoncylinder unit 34) so as to temporarily block passage of the lift of B books, to stop them in the exact position of register with the knife. A pressure pad 35 (FIG. 2) also comes into action to positionally lock the lift of B books (in cooperation with the conveyor pusher 36 and the hinged block 32) during the final trim action; the blade of the knife 30 being disposed as shown in FIG. 2 so as to provide a smooth and accurate trim on the trailing end portions of the lift of B books. Following this final trim, the conveyor 29 operates to forward the resequenced unit of severed and trimmed A and B books to a take-away conveyor such as for example a rollergravity conveyor as indicated at 40 (FIGS. 1, 2). It will of course be understood that the conveyor devices 19, 28, 29 and the I trimmers 21, 22, 23, 24, 30 may be of any preferred forms, and that they will be power-driven and automatically controlled to synchronize their functions so as to provide a smooth and rapid overall operation.

Thus, it will be appreciated that by means of the method and apparatus of the present invention the lifts of two-on twin-books coming successively into the system are conveyed through a single straight-line passageway wherein they are initially partially trimmed and severed, and thenv resequenced and then final-trimmed; without requiring any intermediate directional diversions and recombining of the parts thereof; and that although only one form of apparatus operable in accord with the invention has been illustrated and described by way of example hereinabove, various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A method for producing trimmed books from a supply train of spaced-apart, like-sequenced, two-on twin book units while advancing the work continuously in single file manner, said method comprising:

first performing on each twin-book unit the face trim;

next performing thereon the two remote end trims;

then parting the unit while performing concomitantly therewith the final end trim on one book of the unit;

then relatively shifting the books of the parted unit in the direction of book travel into resequenced relation with books parted from the next-ahead and nextbehind book units, respectively, so that the lead book of each supply twin book unit now becomes the trailing book of a resequenced unit;

and then trimming the previously untrimmed end of the newly resequenced book unit;

all of said trimming and parting operations being per- I formed while advancing the train of books in a single file continuous travel path. 2. A method'as set forth in claim 1 wherein the twin book parting operation concomitantly end-trims the leading end of the trailing book portion of each twin unit, and wherein the resequencing operation is performed by advancing the leading book of each unit as it is parted therefrom forwardly to assume the trailing position at the rear end of the next ahead book, thereby providing a resequenced book unit; the final trimming operation being performed upon the trailing end portion of said advanced book.

3. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the book trim and parting operations are performed by knife blades having in each case the cutting edge thereof bounded by one surface which is coplanar with the direction of the knife blade motion, and another surface bevelled thereto, so as to deflect the trimmings away from the trimmed book parts.

4. A machine for processing a supply train of spacedapart, like-sequenced, two-on twin book units requiring separation and edge trimming; said machine essentially comprising:

conveyor means for carrying said supply book units in single file relation through a succession of operative stations;

means for performing at a first one of said stations the face trims on said twin units as they pass therethrough;

means for performing at a second one of said stations the two remote end trims thereon;

means for performing at a third one of said stations a unit parting cut, said means performing concomitantly therewith the end trim on one book of each unit;

a resequencing device which thereupon shifts the lead book of each unit to assume the tail end position in the next-ahead unit while the trailing book of each parted unit assumes the lead position of the next-behind book unit;

and means for performing at a fourth one of said stations a final end trim operation on the previously untrimmed hook end portion.

5. A machine as set forth in claim 4 wherein said conveyor means operates intermittently to step-advance the book units into successive positions at said operative stations.

8/1951 Moyer 83-255 8/1951 Roessl et al. 83255 WILLIAM S. LAWSON, Primary Examiner JAMES F. COAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

